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David Cameron delivers parting shots at Jeremy Corbyn in final PMQs David Cameron delivers parting shots at Jeremy Corbyn in final PMQs
(35 minutes later)
David Cameron used his final prime minister’s questions to praise his fellow MPs and roundly mock Jeremy Corbyn, suggesting his embattled opposite number was so ineffective a voter had urged him to do his best to keep the Labour leader in his job. David Cameron has used his final prime minister’s questions to praise the public service of his fellow MPs while roundly mocking his opposite number, Jeremy Corbyn, for being so ineffective that a Conservative voter once urged him to try to keep the Labour leader in his job.
In a session that veered from derision to sentimentality to joking – at one point Cameron held up a photograph of himself with Larry the Downing Street cat, saying it proved they were close – the prime minister received numerous tributes from MPs, but also hit out repeatedly at Corbyn and Labour.In a session that veered from derision to sentimentality to joking – at one point Cameron held up a photograph of himself with Larry the Downing Street cat, saying it proved they were close – the prime minister received numerous tributes from MPs, but also hit out repeatedly at Corbyn and Labour.
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Cameron, making his last appearance in the Commons as PM before he makes way for Theresa May later on Wednesday, ended by wishing his colleagues in government and parliament the best, saying politics was about public service. Cameron, making his last appearance in the House Commons as PM before he makes way for Theresa May later on Wednesday, ended with some mockery at his own expense, turning a jibe he once directed at Tony Blair towards himself.
“That is what it is all about,” he said. “Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it.” He added, referring to his scathing dismissal of Tony Blair: “After all, as I once said, I was the future once.” “The last thing I’d say is you can achieve a lot in politics,” he said to huge cheers. “You can get a lot of things done. And that, in the end – the public service, the national interest – that is what it’s all about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. After all, as I once said, I was the future once.”
PM: You can achieve a lot of things in politics – that’s what it’s all about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. #PMQsPM: You can achieve a lot of things in politics – that’s what it’s all about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. #PMQs
Earlier, mimicking Corbyn’s practice of reading out emails from concerned voters, Cameron, produced one he said he had been sent shortly after Corbyn took over the Labour leadership last September. This, Cameron said to laughter from his MPs, urged him to be polite to Corbyn, as his deputy, Tom Watson, was “much more of a threat” politically. There were numerous tributes to the departing prime minister from fellow MPs, as well as from Corbyn, who wished Cameron and his family well for the future.
The Labour leader, who on Tuesday night won a vote among his party’s national executive to be on the ballot in the upcoming leadership election, responded with a smile, saying: “Democracy is an exciting and splendid thing, and I’m enjoying every moment of it.” Cameron was nonetheless at times quite brutal, especially when he mimicked Corbyn’s practice of reading out emails from concerned voters. The prime minister quoted what he said was a message sent last September in which a Tory voter called Judith urged him to treat the then newly elected Labour leader gently. This was because Corbyn’s deputy, Tom Watson, was “experienced, organised and far more dangerous in the long term”, Cameron read out to cheers.
Corbyn treated the jibe with a joke of his own, referencing the narrow vote by Labour’s national executive committee on Tuesday night, which means he will definitely be on the members’ ballot for the party’s upcoming leadership election. “Democracy is an exciting and splendid thing, and I’m enjoying every moment of it,” he said.
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Cameron also made fun of Labour for its lack of female leaders. “When it comes to women I am pleased to say that pretty soon it’s going to be 2-0, and not a pink bus in sight.” Earlier, Cameron had mocked the tortuousness of the opposition’s leadership battle, comparing it unfavourably with the swift coronation of May, after her final challenger, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out on Monday.
He mocked the tortuousness of the opposition’s leadership battle, comparing it unfavourably with the swift coronation of May, after her final challenger, Andrea Leadsom, dropped out on Monday. “We got on with it – we had resignation, nomination, competition and coronation,” Cameron said. “They haven’t even decided what the rules are yet. If they got into power it would take about a year to work out who would sit there.”
“We got on with it,” Cameron said to cheers. “They haven’t even decided what the rules are.” Cameron added: “If they ever got into power it would take them about a year to decide who would sit where.” When Corbyn referred to May in a question, Cameron welcomed her accession and made fun of Labour’s lack of any female leaders: “When it comes to women prime ministers, I’m pleased to be able to say that pretty soon it’s going to be 2-0.”
Cameron began the session with a joke, saying he had had meetings with colleagues in the morning, adding that “the calendar for the rest of the day is remarkably light”. Elsewhere the tone was lighter and more reflective. Cameron began the session with a variant on the normal opening to prime minister’s questions. “This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others,” he told the Commons. “Other than one meeting this afternoon with Her Majesty the Queen, the diary for the rest of my day is remarkably light.”
The first question was also light, with the UUP MP Danny Kinahan noting some vacancies Cameron could consider. “There’s the England football team, there’s Top Gear, and across the pond there’s a role that needs filling,” he said. “I think I’ll pass,” Cameron replied. The first question was in a similar vein, with the UUP MP Danny Kinahan noting some vacancies Cameron could consider. “I’m told that there are lots of leadership roles out there.” Kinahan said: “There’s the England football team, there’s Top Gear, there’s even across the big pond a role that needs filling.” Cameron replied: “I think I’ll pass.”
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Amid the usual broad run of questions, taking in everything from the Kurds in Iraq to Brexit and the economy, Cameron, watched by his wife, Samantha, and the couple’s children in the pubic gallery of the Commons, received many tributes. Amid the usual broad run of questions, taking in everything from the Kurds in Iraq to Brexit and the economy, Cameron, watched by his wife, Samantha, and the couple’s children in the public gallery of the Commons, received many tributes.
Corbyn asked a series of questions about homelessness, but, even after the mockery, he was generous in his sendoff, wishing Cameron and his family the best for the future. Corbyn asked a series of questions about homelessness, but, even after the mockery, he was generous in his sendoff, even jokingly asking Cameron to thank his mother for advising him how to dress properly, a reference to a jibe from an earlier question time.
Cameron’s final Commons appearance as prime minister comes just under three weeks after he announced his resignation in the wake of the referendum vote for Britain to leave the EU. Concluding his final answer, Cameron’s said he would next be watching from the backbenches. “I will miss the roar of the crowd. I will miss the barbs from the opposition. But I will be willing you on,” he said.
He had expected to remain in office until September as the Conservative party held an election for his successor, but the decision on Monday by Leadsom to withdraw from the race left May unchallenged. She will become prime minister and begin appointing her own cabinet later on Wednesday. He paid tribute to the efforts of all MPs: “People come here with huge passion for the issues they care about. They come here with great love for the constituencies they represent. Yes, we can be pretty tough, and test and challenge our leaders, perhaps more than some other countries. But that is something we should be proud of, and we should keep at it.
On Tuesday, Cameron chaired his final cabinet meeting, where he enjoyed tributes from colleagues. Later that day a removal van arrived in Downing Street to begin the process of moving the family’s possessions to a new London home so May can move in.